Evening Standard comment: David Cameron’s economic pitch to the nation

The Prime Minister’s speech to the Conservative Party conference today set out both to rally his own troops and to reach out to the electorate.

To address both audiences, Mr Cameron’s task was made simpler by Labour leader Ed Miliband’s forthright criticism of big business last week. Thus the PM emphasised economic recovery and pro-business values, with a robust defence of profit and private enterprise. These are traditional Conservative themes: for all its American overtones, the speech’s catchphrase — “land of opportunity” — is an attempt to encapsulate the Thatcherite view of the enabling state.

Many Conservatives will be relieved at the Prime Minister’s return to basics: for his party critics, his Conservatism is not robust enough. His pledge today that “you must help people — but you help people by putting up ladders that they can climb through their own efforts” could have been articulated by Mrs Thatcher herself.

The overall message, though, remains focused on the economy and the public finances. The Prime Minister and Chancellor have already said that their intention is not just to wipe out the deficit but to tackle the much larger challenge of reducing the national debt. Like the Chancellor, Mr Cameron has also given an indication that tax cuts are on his agenda. This is the party’s direction of travel for 2015.

But none of this is likely to enthuse voters without a more convincing economic recovery: this remains the key for Tory strategists. The challenge is to strengthen growth without being blown off course by international shocks, in order to deliver a feelgood factor in time for May 2015. And even without that, today’s speech is an indication that the Tories will focus relentlessly on what they present as the alternative — Labour’s mismanagement of the public purse in 2008-2010.

With Mr Miliband’s shift to the Left, there is now a clear choice between the two major parties. Yet while both Labour and the Tories both insist that they are aiming for single-party government after the next election, the polls suggest that may be overly optimistic, especially for the Conservatives. Mr Cameron’s speech today energised the faithful in Manchester. Now he must hope that voters respond to his new, more red-blooded Conservatism.

Private schools sharing

The head of the education watchdog, Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, is the first occupant of the post to address the main conference of private schools, and he used the opportunity today to challenge their heads to do more to help state schools. At present, just 34 private schools sponsor or co-sponsor an academy: fewer than three per cent. A further five per cent loan teaching staff or playing fields to state schools or coach A-level students. This is not an impressive record, even given that not every state school welcomes overtures from the private sector.

As Sir Michael says, many of the best private schools were established for the benefit of poor boys; one way of recovering that original mission, scholarships apart, is to give what help they can to struggling state schools. Some London schools do loan their playing fields to state schools which may have sold them off. Others give tuition to state pupils in subjects such as classics which state schools often no longer offer but these occasional gestures should be routine, not exceptional. The Government’s bid to raise school standards includes partnerships between good and failing state schools: more private schools should join that initiative.